Fairfax County’s Noman M. Cole Jr. Pollution Control Plant recently
received the Gold Peak Performance Award from the National Association of
Clean Water Agencies to recognize the facility’s outstanding
accomplishments in wastewater treatment and environmental protection of
water quality in the county, as well as improvement of the Chesapeake Bay
water quality. The Gold Award pays special tribute to those municipal
wastewater treatment facilities that achieve 100 percent compliance with
all National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit limits during
a calendar year.

The Noman Cole Plant, located at 9399 Richmond Highway, Lorton, is the
largest advanced wastewater treatment plant in the commonwealth of
Virginia with design capacity of 54 million gallons per day. Nearly half
of the 100 million gallons per day of wastewater generated in the county
is currently treated at the Noman Cole Plant. The plant is operated 24
hours a day, seven days a week with the help of highly trained and
skilled wastewater professionals in the field of operations, maintenance,
information controls, engineering, management and related critical
support services, as well as water quality testing and environmental
monitoring services.

In order to comply with stringent regulatory standards, the treatment
system at the plant consists of a series of complex and sophisticated
physical, mechanical, biological and chemical treatment processes for
removing 99 percent or more of the organic pollutants, nutrients - such
as phosphorus and nitrogen - and particulate matter from wastewater, in
addition to almost complete bacterial disinfection and oxygen enrichment
of treated effluent prior to discharge to Pohick Creek.

The Wastewater Management Program maintains approximately 3,200 miles of
sanitary sewer lines, 51 sewage flow meters, 61 pumping stations and 293
sewage grinder pumps in an approved sewer service area that covers nearly
234 square miles. More than 85 percent of the 325,000 households and
virtually all businesses in the county are connected to public sewers.
New developments or existing homes with septic tanks in the county’s
approved sanitary sewer service area can connect to public sewers.
Arlington County, Fort Belvoir, the cities of Falls Church and Fairfax,
and the towns of Herndon and Vienna also are permitted to use the
county’s sewer system through separate service agreements. Through
inter-jurisdictional agreements, a portion of the wastewater flow
collected in the system is conveyed to four regional treatment facilities
operated by Arlington County, the District of Columbia (Blue Plains), the
Alexandria Sanitation Authority and the Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority.

As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System permit program controls water pollution by regulating
point sources, which are discrete conveyances such as pipes, discharging
treated wastewater effluent into waters of the United States. Individual
homes that are connected to a municipal sewer system, use a septic system
or do not have a surface discharge do not need an NPDES permit; however,
industrial, municipal and other facilities must obtain permits if their
discharges go directly to surface waters. Since its introduction in 1972,
the U.S. EPA’s NPDES permit program is responsible for significant
improvements to our nation’s water quality.

The National Association of Clean Water Agencies is a national
professional trade association representing nearly 300 of the nation’s
public wastewater utilities which provide service to the majority of
Americans. These wastewater treatment officials are professional
environmental practitioners dedicated to protecting and improving the
nation’s public health and its water, and collectively treat and reclaim
over 18 billion gallons of wastewater every day.

For more information, call the Fairfax County Wastewater Treatment
Division at 703-550-9740 ext. 255, TTY 711.

FAIRFAX COUNTY IS COMMITTED
TO A POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION IN ALL COUNTY PROGRAMS, SERVICES AND
ACTIVITIES AND WILL PROVIDE REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS UPON REQUEST. TO
REQUEST SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS, CALL 703-324-3187, TTY 703-324-2935.
PLEASE ALLOW FIVE WORKING DAYS IN ADVANCE OF EVENTS IN ORDER TO MAKE THE
NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS.